Bellary: How Sreeramulu's victory spells doom for BJP

Bellary, Dec 4: The ruling BJP party suffered a jolt after they lost to the former minister B Sreeramulu who won the Bellary (Rural) Assembly constituency by-election by a huge margin of over 46,000 votes.

BJP finished in the third place with its candidate P Gadilingappa losing and managing only 17,366 votes hurting their pride.

B Sreeramulu, quit his Assembly seat in Aug after his name was indicted in the illegal mining scam by the Lokayukta. He quit BJP before the Nov 30 byelection whose results were declared on Dec 4, Sunday.

Sreeramulu's win will definately change the course of developments in Karnataka's political scenario, which went for a toss after the arrest of mining czar Janardhana Reddy, who Sreeramulu is a close aide to.

Sreeramulu's victory also means the emergence of a new regional party which means that the ruling BJP party may have to bite the dust.

It is not hidden that it was the Reddy brothers who helped BJP come to power in the state and its defeat spells trouble for the party, as the Reddy brothers claim that they have the support of atleast 14 of the BJP"s 119 lawmakers in the 225-member assembly that includes one nominated member.

BJP which has been trying to distance itself from the Reddy brothers of Bellary for their alleged involvement in the illegal mining scam will now have to start from scratch to rebuild its image.

OneIndia News